Chapter XIII. Justice in the Saddle

by Andy Adams

　　It was an hour after the usual time when we bedded down thecattle. The wagon had overtaken us about sunset, and the cook'sfire piloted us into a camp fully two miles to the right of thetrail. A change of horses was awaiting us, and after a hastysupper Tupps detailed two young fellows to visit Ogalalla. Itrequired no urging; I outlined clearly what was expected of theirmission, requesting them to return by the way of Flood's wagon,and to receive any orders which my employer might see fit tosend. The horse-wrangler was pressed in to stand the guard of oneof the absent lads on the second watch, and I agreed to take theother, which fell in the third. The boys had not yet returnedwhen our guard was called, but did so shortly afterward, one ofthem hunting me up on night-herd."Well," said he, turning his horse and circling with me, "wecaught onto everything that was adrift. The Rebel and Sponsilierwere both in town, in charge of two deputies. Flood and yourbrother went in with us, and with the lads from the otheroutfits, including those across the river, there must have beentwenty-five of Lovell's men in town. I noticed that Dave and TheRebel were still wearing their six-shooters, while among the boysthe arrests were looked upon as quite a joke. The two deputieshad all kinds of money, and wouldn't allow no one but themselvesto spend a cent. The biggest one of the two--the one who gave youthe cigar--would say to my boss: 'Sponsilier, you're a trailforeman from Texas--one of Don Lovell's boss men--but you'reunder arrest; your cattle are in my possession this very minute.You understand that, don't you? Very well, then; everybody comeup and have a drink on the sheriff's office.' That was about thetalk in every saloon and dance-hall visited. But when we proposedstarting back to camp, about midnight, the big deputy said toFlood: 'I want you to tell Colonel Lovell that I hold a warrantfor his arrest; urge him not to put me to the trouble of comingout after him. If he had identified himself to me this afternoon,he could have slept on a goose-hair bed to-night instead of outthere on the mesa, on the cold ground. His reputation in thistown would entitle him to three meals a day, even if he was underarrest. Now, we'll have one more, and tell the damned old rascalthat I'll expect him in the morning.'"We rode out the watch together. On returning to Flood's camp,they had found Don Lovell awake. The old man was pleased with thereport, but sent me no special word except to exercise my ownjudgment. The cattle were tired after their long tramp of the daybefore, the outfit were saddle weary, and the first rays of therising sun flooded the mesa before men or animals offered toarise. But the duties of another day commanded us anew, and withthe cook calling us, we rose to meet them. I was favorablyimpressed with Tupps as a segundo, and after breakfast suggestedthat he graze the cattle over to the North Platte, cross it, andmake a permanent camp. This was agreed to, half the men wereexcused for the day, and after designating, beyond the river, aclump of cottonwoods where the wagon would be found, seven of usturned and rode back for Ogalalla. With picked mounts under us,we avoided the other cattle which could be seen grazingnorthward, and when fully halfway to town, there before us on thebrink of the mesa loomed up the lead of a herd. I soon recognizedJack Splann on the point, and taking a wide circle, dropped inbehind him, the column stretching back a mile and coming up thebluffs, forty abreast like an army in loose marching order. I wasproud of those "Open A's;" they were my first herd, and though ina hurry to reach town, I turned and rode back with them for fullya mile.Splann was acting under orders from Flood, who had met him at theford that morning. If the cattle were in the possession of anydeputy sheriff, they had failed to notify Jack, and the latterhad already started for the North Platte of his own accord. The"Drooping T" cattle were in the immediate rear under Forrest'ssegundo, and Splann urged me to accompany him that forenoon,saying: "From what the boys said this morning, Dave and Paul willnot be given a hearing until two o'clock this afternoon. I cangraze beyond the North Fork by that time, and then we'll all goback together. Flood's right behind here with the 'Drooping T's,'and I think it's his intention to go all the way to the river.Drop back and see him."The boys who were with me never halted, but had ridden on towardstown. When the second herd began the ascent of the mesa, I leftSplann and turned back, waiting on the brink for its arrival. Asit would take the lead cattle some time to reach me, Idismounted, resting in the shade of my horse. But my rest wasbrief, for the clattering hoofs of a cavalcade of horsemen wereapproaching, and as I arose, Quince Forrest and Bob Quirk with adozen or more men dashed up and halted. As their herds wereintended for the Crow and Fort Washakie agencies, they wouldnaturally follow up the south side of the North Platte, and anhour or two of grazing would put them in camp. The Buford cattle,as well as Flood's herd, were due to cross this North Fork of themother Platte within ten miles of Ogalalla, their respectiveroutes thenceforth being north and northeast. Forrest, likemyself, was somewhat leary of entering the town, and my brotherand the boys passed on shortly, leaving Quince behind. Wediscussed every possible phase of what might happen in case wewere recognized, which was almost certain if Tolleston or theDodge buyers were encountered. But an overweening hunger to getinto Ogalalla was dominant in us, and under the excuse ofsettling for our supplies, after the herd passed, we remountedour horses, Flood joining us, and rode for the hamlet.There was little external and no moral change in the town.Several new saloons had opened, and in anticipation of the largedrive that year, the Dew-Drop-In dance-hall had been enlarged,and employed three shifts of bartenders. A stage had been addedwith the new addition, and a special importation of ladies hadbeen brought out from Omaha for the season. I use the term ladiesadvisedly, for in my presence one of the proprietors, with markedcourtesy, said to an Eastern stranger, "Oh, no, you need nointroduction. My wife is the only woman in town; all the balanceare ladies." Beyond a shave and a hair-cut, Forrest and I foughtshy of public places. But after the supplies were settled for,and some new clothing was secured, we chambered a few drinks andswaggered about with considerable ado. My bill of suppliesamounted to one hundred and twenty-six dollars, and when, withouta word, I drew a draft for the amount, the proprietor of theoutfitting store, as a pelon, made me a present of two fine silkhandkerchiefs.Forrest was treated likewise, and having invested ourselves inwhite shirts, with flaming red ties, we used the newhandkerchiefs to otherwise decorate our persons. We had bothchosen the brightest colors, and with these knotted about ournecks, dangling from pistol-pockets, or protruding from ruffledshirt fronts, our own mothers would scarcely have known us. JimFlood, whom we met casually on a back street, stopped, and aftercircling us once, said, "Now if you fellows just keep perfectlysober, your disguise will be complete."Meanwhile Don Lovell had reported at an early hour to thesheriff's office. The legal profession was represented inOgalalla by several firms, criminal practice being theirspecialty; but fortunately Mike Sutton, an attorney of Dodge, hadarrived in town the day before on a legal errand for anothertrail drover. Sutton was a frontier advocate, alike popular withthe Texas element and the gambling fraternity, having achievedlaurels in his home town as a criminal lawyer. Mike was born onthe little green isle beyond the sea, and, gifted with the Celticwit, was also in logic clear as the tones of a bell, while hisinsight into human motives was almost superhuman. Lovell had hadoccasion in other years to rely on Sutton's counsel, and nowwould listen to no refusal of his services. As it turned out, thelawyer's mission in Ogalalla was so closely in sympathy withLovell's trouble that they naturally strengthened each other. Thehighest tribunal of justice in Ogalalla was the county court, thejudge of which also ran the stock-yards during the shippingseason, and was banker for two monte games at the Lone Starsaloon. He enjoyed the reputation of being an honest, fearlessjurist, and supported by a growing civic pride, his decisionsgave satisfaction. A sense of crude equity governed his rulings,and as one of the citizens remarked, "Whatever the judge said,went." It should be remembered that this was in '84, but had asimilar trouble occurred five years earlier, it is likely thatJudge Colt would have figured in the preliminaries, and thecoroner might have been called on to impanel a jury. But therudiments of civilization were sweeping westward, and Ogalallawas nerved to the importance of the occasion; for that veryafternoon a hearing was to be given for the possession of twoherds of cattle, valued at over a quarter-million dollars.The representatives of The Western Supply Company were quarteredin the largest hotel in town, but seldom appeared on the streets.They had employed a firm of local attorneys, consisting of an oldand a young man, both of whom evidently believed in the justiceof their client's cause. All the cattle-hands in Lovell's employwere anxious to get a glimpse of Tolleston, many of thempatronizing the bar and table of the same hostelry, but theirefforts were futile until the hour arrived for the hearing. Theyprobably have a new court-house in Ogalalla now, but at the dateof this chronicle the building which served as a temple ofjustice was poorly proportioned, its height being entirely out ofrelation to its width. It was a two-story affair, the lower floorbeing used for county offices, the upper one as the court-room. Along stairway ran up the outside of the building, landing on agallery in front, from which the sheriff announced the sitting ofthe honorable court of Keith County. At home in Texas, lawsuitswere so rare that though I was a grown man, the novelty of thisone absorbed me. Quite a large crowd had gathered in advance ofthe hour, and while awaiting the arrival of Judge Mulqueen, acontingent of fifteen men from the two herds in question rode upand halted in front of the court-house. Forrest and I were lyinglow, not caring to be seen, when the three plaintiffs, the twolocal attorneys, and Tolleston put in an appearance. Thecavalcade had not yet dismounted, and when Dorg Seay caught sightof Tolleston, he stood up in his stirrups and sang out, "Hellothere, Archibald! my old college chum, how goes it?"Judge Mulqueen had evidently dressed for the occasion, for withthe exception of the plaintiffs, he was the only man in thecourt-room who wore a coat. The afternoon was a sultry one; inthat first bottom of the Platte there was scarcely a breath ofair, and collars wilted limp as rags. Neither map nor chartgraced the unplastered walls, the unpainted furniture of the roomwas sadly in need of repair, while a musty odor permeated theroom. Outside the railing the seating capacity of the court-roomwas rather small, rough, bare planks serving for seats, but thespectators gladly stood along the sides and rear, eager to catchevery word, as they silently mopped the sweat which oozed alikefrom citizen and cattleman. Forrest and I were concealed in therear, which was packed with Lovell's boys, when the judge walkedin and court opened for the hearing. Judge Mulqueen requestedcounsel on either side to be as brief and direct as possible,both in their pleadings and testimony, adding: "If they reach thestock-yards in time, I may have to load out a train of feedersthis evening. We'll bed the cars, anyhow." Turning to thesheriff, he continued: "Frank, if you happen outside, keep an eyeup the river; those Lincoln feeders made a deal yesterday forfive hundred three-year-olds.--Read your complaint."The legal document was read with great fervor and energy by theyounger of the two local lawyers. In the main it reviewed thesituation correctly, every point, however, being made subservientto their object,--the possession of the cattle. The plaintiffscontended that they were the innocent holders of the originalcontract between the government and The Western Supply Company,properly assigned; that they had purchased these two herds inquestion, had paid earnest-money to the amount of sixty-fivethousand dollars on the same, and concluded by petitioning thecourt for possession. Sutton arose, counseled a moment withLovell, and borrowing a chew of tobacco from Sponsilier,leisurely addressed the court."I shall not trouble your honor by reading our reply in full, butbriefly state its contents," said he, in substance. "We admitthat the herds in question, which have been correctly describedby road brands and ages, are the property of my client. Wefurther admit that the two trail foremen here under arrest asaccessories were acting under the orders of their employer, whoassumes all responsibility for their acts, and in our pleadingswe ask this honorable court to discharge them from furtherdetention. The earnest-money, said to have been paid on theseherds, is correct to a cent, and we admit having the amount inour possession. But," and the little advocate's voice rose, richin its Irish brogue, "we deny any assignment of the originalcontract. The Western Supply Company is a corporation name, ashield and fence of thieves. The plaintiffs here can claim noassignment, because they themselves constitute the company. Ithas been decided that a man cannot steal his own money, neithercan he assign from himself to himself. We shall prove by acredible witness that The Western Supply Company is but anothername for John C. Fields, Oliver Radcliff, and the portlygentleman who was known a year ago as 'Honest' John Griscom, oneof his many aliases. If to these names you add a few moneyedconfederates, you have The Western Supply Company, one and thesame. We shall also prove that for years past these samegentlemen have belonged to a ring, all brokers in governmentcontracts, and frequently finding it necessary to use assumednames, generally that of a corporation."Scanning the document in his hand, Sutton continued: "Our motivein selling and accepting money on these herds in Dodge demands aword of explanation. The original contract calls for five millionpounds of beef on foot to be delivered at Fort Buford. My clientis a sub-contractor under that award. There are times, yourhonor, when it becomes necessary to resort to questionable meansto attain an end. This is one of them. Within a week after myclient had given bonds for the fulfillment of his contract, hemade the discovery that he was dealing with a double-faced set ofscoundrels. From that day until the present moment,secret-service men have shadowed every action of the plaintiffs.My client has anticipated their every move. When beeves broke inprice from five to seven dollars a head, Honest John, here, madehis boasts in Washington City over a champagne supper that he andhis associates would clear one hundred thousand dollars on theirBuford contract. Let us reason together how this could be done.The Western Supply Company refused, even when offered a bonus, toassign their contract to my client. But they were perfectlywilling to transfer it, from themselves as a corporation, tothemselves as individuals, even though they had previously givenDon Lovell a subcontract for the delivery of the beees. Theoriginal award was made seven months ago, and the depreciation incattle since is the secret of why the frog eat the cabbage. Myclient is under the necessity of tendering his cattle on the dayof delivery, and proposes to hold this earnest-money to indemnifyhimself in case of an adverse decision at Fort Buford. It is theonly thing he can do, as The Western Supply Company is executionproof, its assets consisting of some stud-horse office furnitureand a corporate seal. On the other hand, Don Lovell is rated athalf a million, mostly in pasture lands; is a citizen of MedinaCounty, Texas, and if these gentlemen have any grievance, letthem go there and sue him. A judgment against my client is good.Now, your honor, you have our side of the question. To be brief,shall these old Wisinsteins come out here from Washington Cityand dispossess any man of his property? There is but oneanswer--not in the Republic of Keith."All three of the plaintiffs took the stand, their testimonysupporting the complaint, Lovell's attorney refusing even tocross-examine any one of them. When they rested their case Suttonarose, and scanning the audience for some time, inquired, "Is JimReed there?" In response, a tall, one-armed man worked his wayfrom the outer gallery through the crowd and advanced to therail. I knew Reed by sight only, my middle brother having madeseveral trips with his trail cattle, but he was known to everyone by reputation. He had lost an arm in the Confederate service,and was recognized by the gambling fraternity as the gamest manamong all the trail drovers, while every cowman from the RioGrande to the Yellowstone knew him as a poker-player. Reed wasasked to take the stand, and when questioned if he knew either ofthe plaintiffs, said:"Yes, I know that fat gentleman, and I'm powerful glad to meet upwith him again," replied the witness, designating Honest John."That man is so crooked that he can't sleep in a bed, and it'sone of the wonders of this country that he hasn't stretched hempbefore this. I made his acquaintance as manager of The FederalSupply Company, and delivered three thousand cows to him at theWashita Indian Agency last fall. In the final settlement, he drewon three different banks, and one draft of twenty-eight thousanddollars came back, indorsed, drawee unknown. I had other herds onthe trail to look after, and it was a month before I found outthat the check was bogus, by which time Honest John had sailedfor Europe. There was nothing could be done but put my claim intoa judgment and lay for him. But I've got a grapevine twist on himnow, for no sooner did he buy a herd here last week than Mr.Sutton transferred the judgment to this jurisdiction, and hiscattle will be attached this afternoon. I've been on his trailfor nearly a year, but he'll come to me now, and before he canmove his beeves out of this county, the last cent must come, withinterest, attorney's fees, detective bills, and remuneration formy own time and trouble. That's the reason that I'm so glad tomeet him. Judge, I've gone to the trouble and expense to get hisrecord for the last ten years. He's so snaky he sheds his nameyearly, shifting for a nickname from Honest John to The Quaker.In '80 he and his associates did business under the name of TheArmy & Sutler Supply Company, and I know of two judgments thatcan be bought very reasonable against that corporation. Hisrecord would convince any one that he despises to make an honestdollar."The older of the two attorneys for the plaintiffs asked a fewquestions, but the replies were so unsatisfactory to their side,that they soon passed the witness. During the cross-questioning,however, the sheriff had approached the judge and whisperedsomething to his honor. As there were no further witnesses to beexamined, the local attorneys insisted on arguing the case, butJudge Mulqueen frowned them down, saying:"This court sees no occasion for any argument in the presentcase. You might spout until you were black in the face and itwouldn't change my opinion any; besides I've got twenty cars tosend and a train of cattle to load out this evening. This courtrefuses to interfere with the herds in question, at present theproperty of and in possession of Don Lovell, who, together withhis men, are discharged from custody. If you're in town to-night,Mr. Reed, drop into the Lone Star. Couple of nice monte gamesrunning there; hundred-dollar limit, and if you feel lucky,there's a nice bank roll behind them. Adjourn court, Mr.Sheriff."